Purported Samsung Galaxy Gear prototype images leak ahead of launch

We may now have a good idea of what Samsung’s first attempt at making a smartwatch will look like. VentureBeat has obtained some leaked pictures purportedly showing off a prototype for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch that we expect Samsung to show off this coming Wednesday alongside the new Galaxy Note III phablet. The pictures show a device that looks rather boxy and that comes loaded with a lot of fitness-centric applications. The Chrome logo shown in the top left-hand corner of the display in one picture suggests that Google’s web browser will be the primary interface for connecting the watch to the web.

GigaOM, however, suggests that the Galaxy Gear prototype shown in VentureBeat’s pictures is not what the final version of the smartwatch will look like as the publication’s sources claim that “Samsung has a different, more finished product that will be announced this coming week.” One of GigaOM’s sources says that the device will run on Android 4.3 and will not feature a built-in web browser like the one shown in the leaked pictures. GigaOM also says we should expect the Gear’s battery life to clock in at 24 hours for moderate use and 10 hours for more intensive use.